YETI’s biggest cooler shake-up in years is coming, and it changes the formula that made the brand famous

YETI built its reputation by making some of the toughest, most over-engineered coolers around, but the company is preparing to make a fairly fundamental change to the formula that made it famous.

The outdoor brand has confirmed that its first Power Cooler is coming in 2027, marking its move into powered cooling and potentially opening an entirely new branch of the YETI cooler family.

YETI revealed the product during its Investor Day presentation earlier this month, where Hannah Mara, Head of Product of Home and Hydration, discussed the company's plans to expand its Gear and Equipment business.

"We built this category from the original Tundra 45 to over 18 hard coolers, covering the full range of personal, consumer, and commercial formats," Mara said, before adding that YETI's Power Cooler would bring "an exciting innovation to YETI and to the entire category next year."

YETI's coolers have traditionally been about maximising thermal performance through clever construction and insulation.

A powered model moves the company into a category populated by electric cool boxes and portable fridge/freezers that actively maintain a set temperature.

Years in the making

Later in the presentation, YETI CFO Scott Bomar said the company had made four acquisitions across bags, cookware, hydration and powered coolers.

He explained that YETI uses acquisitions when it wants access to product knowledge, intellectual property or development expertise more quickly than it could build those capabilities internally.

This happened when the company bought out Mystery Ranch to launch its backpack range and Helimix for its recently launched shaker.

Bomar specifically referenced YETI's "Power Cooler" acquisition alongside cookware brand Butter Pat, saying the deals provided capability and innovation in categories the company "couldn't build fast enough on our own".

Gear and Equipment is already a significant business for the company, and YETI says the platform could grow from $360 million in sales in 2025 to as much as $600 million by 2030.

A powered cooler also feels like a natural way of expanding beyond the limitations of traditional ice-filled designs.

Exactly how YETI plans to tackle those things remains unknown. The company hasn't revealed the Power Cooler's capacity, cooling system, battery setup or whether it will be available in multiple sizes.

There's also no word on pricing yet, but given YETI's premium positioning and the price of existing powered coolers from rival outdoor brands, I don't expect it to be cheap.

What YETI has now confirmed is that the Power Cooler will arrive in 2027, with more details presumably coming closer to launch.

[via YETI Investor Relations]